ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — At the end of an up-and-back second half in which neither team had trouble scoring, Michigan State finally played a few minutes of solid defense.

That was enough for another win over Michigan.

Annalise Pickrel had 16 points and eight assists, and the Spartans outplayed the Wolverines down the stretch for a 79-72 victory. It was Michigan State's 14th win in the last 15 meetings between the rivals.

"I don't think our defense was spectacular today to be honest with you, but certainly we've been concentrating on it," Spartans coach Suzy Merchant said. "I did like our response. I thought defensively in the second half, we were a different team."

Especially toward the end.

The Wolverines (11-5, 2-1 Big Ten) tied it at 65 on a layup by Cyesha Goree with 4:24 to play. Then Michigan didn't score again until the final minute. Michigan State (11-5, 3-0) scored the next six points and took over sole possession of first place in the conference.

Becca Mills scored inside to put the Spartans up 67-65, then Michigan committed a shot clock violation. After a missed layup by Michigan State's Aerial Powers, the Spartans got the ball back on a steal by Pickrel.

Michigan State called time with 1:32 to play, and Mills then slipped free for a layup to push the lead to four.

Michigan's Shannon Smith missed badly on a 3-pointer, and Pickrel's two free throws made it 71-65 with 48 seconds left.

Smith, Michigan's leading scorer, had only 11 points on 5-of-13 shooting.

"When the game's on the line, we always want the ball in her hands," Wolverines coach Kim Barnes Arico said. "I always feel like the next time she has the ball in her hands, she can make a play."

Siera Thompson led Michigan with 16 points.

The Wolverines rallied to force a 28-all tie at halftime after trailing by as many as nine. The second half was tight almost the whole way.

Kiana Johnson scored 12 of her 14 points in the second half for Michigan State.

"She really was amazing down the stretch," Merchant said. "Was really kind of a catalyst for us to pull away."

Mills, meanwhile, picked up her fourth foul with 12:05 to play, but after sitting out for a bit, she came back in with 8:04 left and never did foul out.

"Becca had kind of gave me the thumbs up," Merchant said. "To her credit, she was able to do it. Becca's really been playing well. She's got a very high motor for a big kid, so she can really play through fatigue. You saw that with being able to go to her late. She just didn't run out of gas."